When I joined Kiwanis, I asked: “What does ‘Kiwanis’ mean?” The answer: “It’s an American Indian term.” The official Kiwanis site says it means: ‘We make ourselves known.’ Here is the reality – Kiwanis makes a noticeable difference through community service – particularly to children. Great.
But, I also asked: “What about this word: “Sinawik?” My new friends answered: “That’s ‘Kiwanis‘ backward. It’s our time for a joke.”
I wondered: “Does Sinawik belong at the beginning of the program – right after a patriotic song, the Pledge of Allegiance, and prayer?” Good question.
How important is laughter to us? The Eskimos are surrounded by snow. “The Eskimo language includes hundreds of words for snow. We invent words for the things we need to talk about. I consider it a good sign that we have so many words for laughter. A partial list of synonyms for laughter: cackle, chuckle, chortle, giggle, guffaw, snicker, snigger, titter, twitter” (Patrick Madden, “Quotidiana,” p. 19). It sounds like Sinawik! We love a good hearty laugh.
But we can abuse even laughter. When I turned 50, I bought Cotton Mather’s (1663 – 1728) diary of his 50th year. He graduated from Harvard at 15 – was the lead pastor of Old North Church by 22 – and wrote over 400 books! In his diary, he condemned laughter because it was often cruel – a form of bullying. He justified his position by saying that the Bible never depicts Jesus as laughing.
How do we respond to Mather?
We could begin with Jesus. What about Jesus and humor? For his first miracle, he turned water into wine – I’m sure that brought laughter. And we see Jesus’ sense of humor in some of his parables.
What about the abuses of humor Mather worried about? Indeed, Jesus warns us against speaking words of contempt to our neighbor – even words spoken in “humor.” But, contrary to Mather, Jesus laughed. Laughter is as essential to God as snow is to an Eskimo.
How do we know? Although we, like Mather, can be blind, here is where we scratch our heads regarding Mather. We are not projecting our understanding of laughter on God. God has revealed himself truly in Scripture. God could not be more explicit about his sense of humor. Wisdom, in Proverbs 8:30 says: I was constantly at his (God’s) side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Note, Proverbs uses “delight” (shahshooah) twice and “rejoicing” (sahaq) twice. The Hebrews repeated what they thought was important.
Note: The Hebrew word, sahaq, is related to the Hebrew name, Isaac. In the well-known story of Isaac, God came to Abraham (100) and Sarah (90) and told them they were going to have a son! “Call him, ‘Isaac.'” ‘Isaac’ could be translated as ‘Joke’ – or – in this case, with the pregnant pair of words – ‘Belly laugh!’ The contrast between normal life and this child was too great. People were dumbstruck. Let’s read between the lines and hear God saying: “Giving you a child now is a BIG clue to the sense of humor I have.” Genesis 21:6 – Sarah said, “God has brought me’ laughter,’ and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” “Everyone” included God.
What better than the deep joy of laughter to describe the overwhelming emotion one feels at the safe delivery of a child – or an adoption? Exactly – parents, you remember! So, Christian, imagine God feeling that kind of joy – for you – when God adopted you at unbelievable cost into his family. And, our joy is just the beginning of His.
Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame. What was that joy? – rescuing sinners like us and bringing us home to God. If joy characterized the fundamental improbability of a 100-year-old father and a 90-year-old mother having a son, how much more joy is there for the astonishing impossibility of a holy God finding a way to bring sinners like us home? What can we say? Grace happens – and when it does, there is laughter. “It is the heart that is not yet sure of its God that is afraid to laugh in His presence” (George MacDonald). We bring glory to God by enjoying him.
Zephaniah 3: 17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice (sahaq) over you with singing.” Return the favor, ‘sahaq’ – expressing joy, laughter – playing, celebrating, making merry – along with God. Imagine laughing with God!
